Safety or Self Expression
by OfRosesProudandsad
Summary: My Jason Todd is a red-head au.
1. Chapter 1

"Alfred, can I get some hair dye?"

Alfred turned around, plate he'd been drying still in hand, and stared at the boy sitting at the kitchen counter pushing around a plate of pancakes with his fork. This was a completely unexpected thing to hear over breakfast, and that from the man who's adopted son had once announced he wanted to fight crime while dressed as a bat over dinner.

"May I ask why master Jason?"

Jason's hand came up to his hair, and started to pick at the roots;

"My roots are starting to show…" he whispered almost embarrassedly

Alfred blinked and gave a closer look at the boy's hair, the roots were starting to show. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed those ginger roots before.

"Um, I don't see why not." He answered uncertainly

Relief flashed in Jason's eyes.

"If I might ask though, why do you dye your hair, master Jason?" Alfred asked as he put the plate away, and pulled a stool up to the counter to sit across him.

Alfred could have sworn Jason immediately whispered, "the old man doesn't-"

before cutting himself off and giving Alfred a winning smile and saying

"I just like it better this way, makes me more dashing you know!"

"Alright" Alfred declared getting up "well if we're gonna go out and buy hair dye, I might as well collect the groceries as well. Just give me some time to put together a list, while you finish your breakfast."

"Yes sir!" Jason said mimicking a salute with his fork and in the process getting syrup on his forehead.

"Very good sir, we shall meet back here in-" Alfred looked at his watch, and then how much food was left on Jason's plate. "-oh forty minutes I should say, and see that you wash that syrup off your face young man."

Jason reached up to his forehead and wiped at it embarrassedly

"R-right" he said "see you then"

With that Alfred turned around, grabbing the already made list of groceries Jason didn't need to know he already had, and went to go find master Bruce. This was some very disturbing news he'd learned, and Lord help Bruce if he was the "old man" Jason had mentioned! Though that was rather unlikely considering Jason had only been living with them two weeks, he had yet to call Bruce anything but a sarcastic "B", and Jason had come to them with his hair already dyed…


	2. Brotherly Bonding on the Cold

Dick couldn't take the quiet any longer. "I've gotta ask Jason, why do you dye your hair? Please tell me it isn't because of me?"

Jason looked up from his spot leaning on a chimney and peering through binoculars at the suspect's hotel room across the street, obviously shocked by Dick's sudden question.

"What? No! I've been dyin' it way before you, not everythin's about ya dickhead!" He said rolling his eyes and settling back into place.

"Oh ha ha." Dick said sarcastically "why do you do it then?"

For a moment Jason didn't say anything, just scowled across the street, Dick started to think he was just going to ignore him.

"The old man didn't like it, the red I mean. Said it was unnatural, 'cause he an' mom didn't have it. At first that was fine, I mean he was never happy so why care what he thought of my hair? But the deeper in the underworld he got, the more paranoid he got, and well it just wasn't safe anymore so one day after school mom just dyed it, and well some of the beatin's stopped, so I never stopped dyin' it?"

Well, that had gotten real dark real fast, that wasn't the direction Dick had expected things to go.

"Why do you still dye it then, I mean your dad's dead, and none of us care what color your hair is?"

"I don't know?" Jason shrugged "I guess I'm just not ready yet, this just feels safer ya know? That probably doesn't make any sense…"

Dick shivered against the cold, missing the robin cape not for the first time.

"I guess I do?" He whispered

Jason looked at him skeptically.

"I mean my parents were amazing-" Dick said quickly. "I'm not saying anything like that… but when I was in juvie-"

Jason looked very confused at that remark.

"They said they didn't have anyone left to take me, complete bull I know, but anyway, the others didn't much care for my accent. Haley's spent a lot of time overseas and most of us originated from someplace in Europe. So growing there led to me having a strange accent to say the least"

Dick was very carefully not looking at Jason at this point, too worried he was taking this too far, but also needing to finish.

"Anyway, I lost that accent real quick for the sake of some peace, I still don't feel quite comfortable talking the way I used to, not that I'm sure I'd even know how if I did feel like it, it's been so long…"

They were quiet for a moment.

"Guess we all have traumas we hide in this family." Dick thought.

"It looks like they're movin'" Jason announced.

"Finally! Anything to get off these ice cold bricks!" Dick said excitedly jumping into action.

"At least you aren't in booty shorts!" Jason hissed rushing to catch up


End file.
